IOM Iraq in the Media

More than 3 million Iraqis continue to be displaced due to the current crisis. Only from Mosul, over 370,000 people are still in displacement as of 14 May. IOM Chief of Mission Thomas Weiss highlighted the humanitarian situation in Mosul in this Al Ghad TV interview.For the full report in Arabic, click here.

Rudaw news article: ERBIL, Kurdistan Region, As thousands of civilians continue to flee Mosul in the face of a major Iraqi military operation to retake the city from ISIS, others have started returning to their liberated areas elsewhere in the country. Close to half a million people, numbering 67,791 families...

DARATU, Kurdistan Region – They stand proudly next to each other behind their stalls in the brand new Daratu Market place, one selling vegetables, the other cleaning materials. Soon the purple ribbon will be cut to officially open this covered market with its sixty places, and these two men have been working since...

Al Rasheed TV has produced a report about IOM Iraq's livelihoods activities benefiting displaced people in southern Iraq. Click on the link below to find out how IOM Iraq is trying to improve the living conditions of the displaced people.https://youtu.be/p6hL2FYE0Eo

"The challenges facing the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are numerous including the current fiscal crisis, fighting ISIL and, on top of that, hosting 1.1 million refugees and IDPs, which is an enormous burden. It is important to note that many IDPs live out-of-camp in the KRI. These IDPs have less access to essential...

But as winter set in last year, the number of people applying for repatriation with the IOM began to grow, from 100 people a month since the start of the year to 350 in September, 761 in October and 831 in January 2016."It is very hard to know what the total numbers are because many of them are returning independently...

In 2015 IOM assisted nearly 3,500 Iraqis to return home from Europe to Iraq, through the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. Brwa was one of those who voluntarily returned to Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil city, and with IOM assistance re-started his business as a wedding photographer. For the full story please click...

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Dr. Thomas Lothar Weiss spoke to Al Jazeera's The Stream about the reasons why many Iraqi migrants choose to voluntarily return from Europe. IOM's Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme assisted more than 3,000 Iraq migrants to return to Iraq last year from 14 European countries....

ALLEN: The International Organization for Migration has helped about 3500 migrants return home from Europe to Iraq, but it says the total number is actually much higher. I'm joined now by Sandra Black, the group's spokeswoman. She is in Irbil, Iraq. Talking with us right now. Sandra, thanks for joining us. This...

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Weiss said “IOM will continue to provide relief and humanitarian assistance to displaced families, " and 'stressed the significance of safe return of IDPs to liberated areas and the rebuilding of their cities in a way that is conducive to ending their sufferings.'

"More than 3.1 million Iraqis have been displaced since January 2014 due to violence in the country and fighting against the Islamic State (IS), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Friday.""IDPs have slowly begun returning to their cities and towns as fighters are pushed out. The IOM’s statement...

Some of the points discussed during the 27 minute 8:30 pm talk show were:Purpose and Significane of IOM's International Migrants Day candle light vigil on Erbil Citadel to remember lost migrant lives The situation of refugees in the Kurdistan region of IraqIOM activities benifiting IDPs and refugeesChallenges...

"A growing number are now signing up to return to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which helps migrants to return to their country of origin and provides some financial assistance through its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration program.""Out of 1,372...

At the same time, the Embassy expressed its appreciation to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the crucial role it played in the repatriation of the victims, who were subjected to exploitative and abusive conditions at a spa in Erbil owned by a Lebanese national. “We very much appreciate the...

"Iraqi TV channel Al Sumaria ran a story on its website about the meeting between IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Dr. Thomas Lothar Weiss and with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri on November 2nd which tackled migration flow and government cooperation.""The meeting highlighted the importance of Iraq joining IOM and...

About 710,000 refugees and economic migrants have entered the European Union this year, and authorities are struggling to provide, shelter and language training. The job fair program, run by the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration (IOM), is an EU-supported effort to encourage those denied asylum to...

“Massive displacement due to continued conflict persists across Iraq, and displaced Iraqis are in increasingly desperate situations,” said International Organization for Migration’s Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss.“Of the nearly 3.2 million displaced, one out of five are living in critical shelter...

"Iraq - The IOM Iraq Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), published this week, identified 3,206,736 internally displaced Iraqis (534,456 families) from 1 January 2014 through 29 September 2015."The link to the article on Bas News website can be found here

"Iraq - The IOM Iraq Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), published this week, identified 3,206,736 internally displaced Iraqis (534,456 families) from 1 January 2014 through 29 September 2015. ""The majority (87 per cent) of IDPs are reported to be originally from three governorates: Anbar, 42 per cent (1,334,592...

"Recent numbers published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) state that 3.2 million Iraqis have been displaced by violence across the country since January 2014.""An overwhelming 87 percent of those people were reported to be from Anbar, Nineveh and Salahaddin provinces – three areas most affected...

"Cash-strapped aid agencies are scrambling to respond to an escalating humanitarian crisis after Islamist militants seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, forcing an estimated half a million people to flee towards the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the space of days.The United Nations...

"Flooding caused by the forced closure of a major dam on the Euphrates river has destroyed villages and farms across a 200sqkm area west of Baghdad, leaving tens of thousands homeless and at high risk of waterborne diseases like cholera.""Zach Thomas, an assistant project officer with the International...

"This week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released the first of several planned detailed assessments of IDPs from Anbar in itsDisplacement Tracking Matrix.In it, it brings to light some of the conditions in which the IDPs are living - in some cases with only one set of clothes, and sleeping...

Kuwait News Agency highlighted the scope of IOM Iraq's humanitarian assistance in Syria. To date, IOM Iraq has provided humanitarian assistance to over 1.3 million individuals across Syria. Almost half of these individuals received clothing, thermal blankets, and mattresses. Their shelters were improved for the...

Aswat al-Iraq News highlighted IOM Iraq's joint distribution of relief kits with UNHCR. Through this joint distribution, over 1400 non-food relief items were sent to help displaced families living in the Anbar province of Iraq.

Mandie Alexander, a monitoring and evaluation officer and Anbar emergency focal point for IOM, describes the rapid displacement of large parts of the Iraqi population in the Anbar province due to increased violence. in this IRIN news article.

Diana Al Moulla, Iraq national information officer for IOM, discusses the difficulty of providing aid to the civilians displaced by the increasing violence in the Anbar province, especially since the situation changes so rapidly.